<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>(Not So) Elementary, Dear Data by friendoftheJabberwock</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714420">(Not So) Elementary, Dear Data</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendoftheJabberwock/pseuds/friendoftheJabberwock'>friendoftheJabberwock</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Captain Data [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captain Data, Data Lives, Fluff and Humor, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:08:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>779</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25714420</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendoftheJabberwock/pseuds/friendoftheJabberwock</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Data had calculated in advance the precise intonations, gestures, and facial expressions to use based on his memories of Captain Picard's mannerisms. It would be perfect.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>"Engage."</i>
</p><p>According to Geordi, though, it was too perfect.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Data &amp; Geordi La Forge</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Captain Data [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903870</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>(Not So) Elementary, Dear Data</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The doors opened with a satisfying swish, and Data looked out onto the bridge – his bridge – for the first time.</p><p>The first step of the mission, at least, was easy. He walked to the center of the bridge and sat down. His circuitry told him this chair was not all that different from the others he had occupied during his career, but that was both a fact and untrue. It was also very different. Human truths often had these strange dualities – it would be very confusing, really, except that androids are not often confused.</p><p>The next step was also simple. All bridge crew members reported that all supplies were loaded, the crew was at their stations, and all systems were good to go. Just two syllables, and an entire starship under the command of the first android to captain a Starfleet vessel would leave spacedock.</p><p>He had calculated in advance the precise intonations, gestures, and facial expressions to use based on his memories of the mannerisms of Captain Picard. It would be perfect.</p><p>
  <em>"Engage."</em>
</p><p>"Right away, sir!" The ensign at the helm was fresh out of Starfleet Academy and still thoroughly in awe of any and all authority.</p><p>Geordi La Forge, First Officer, was not.</p><p>"Captain?"</p><p>If Data were human, he would have looked around to find the captain that Geordi was referring to. Data’s android intelligence adapted far more quickly to these things, but it was still terribly strange.</p><p>"Yes, Mr. La Forge?"</p><p>"You need to work on that. It’s just not quite right."</p><p>"But I calculated –"</p><p>"I’m sure you did, Captain. But calculations aren’t everything."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Computer, please program the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D. Have Captain Picard tell the helm to ‘engage,’ and loop that moment."</p><p>The holodeck doors opened. The bridge was in perfect condition, not the wreck Data had last seen, and Tasha still stood at her post – was this nostalgia?</p><p>But he wasn’t here to reminisce, of course. His old seat was unoccupied, so he sat down and began making observations.</p><p>"Engage." The angle between the right index finger and thumb was precisely 42.06°. The other fingers were curled around a space with an average diameter of 5.28 centimeters.</p><p>"Engage." The English language has a phonemic stress system, which means the position of the syllable that is emphasized in most words is not usually predictable. In this case, the captain applied primary stress to the second syllable.</p><p>"Engage." The pitch of the captain's voice was approximately an E₃.</p><p>"Captain!"</p><p>"En –"</p><p>"Computer, pause program. You mentioned that my order to leave space dock was lacking in style, so I am attempting to fix that."</p><p>"Data, you misunderstand. It was perfect."</p><p>"What’s the problem, then?"</p><p>"You’re trying to be Captain Picard!"</p><p>"That’s the point."</p><p>"No, Data, it’s not. To be a great captain – you don’t have to be Picard. You can be Data! There’s a reason you were chosen to command this ship, and I can assure it has nothing to do with your flawless impression of Captain Picard."</p><p>"I am an android. I learn by assimilating and reproducing the behaviors I see around me."</p><p>"Humans do too – we just try to focus on applying things we learn, not replicating everything exactly. What else did you learn from serving with Captain Picard?"</p><p>"There are always other options. Stay calm. Loyalty to friends. Make it so. Lots of earl grey tea."</p><p>"Maybe focus on the first three? <em>Those</em> are leadership qualities – things you can aspire to and principles to live by, not precise mannerisms to replicate."</p><p>"I think I understand." Data paused. "There’s one problem, though."</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"So I should be Captain Data, not Captain Picard. If Captain Picard gives the order to ‘engage,’ how does Captain Data phrase it instead?"</p><p>"You’ll have to figure that out. Give yourself a break – this is your first command. You’re supposed to mess around a bit and figure out who you are. No one is supposed to have the answers immediately. Not even an android, I think."</p><p>"I see. As an android in a world of humans I've always had this strange thought that I have to be twice as good at everything to make up for my deficiencies, and sometimes… sometimes I get a little carried away."</p><p>"Data, you <em>are </em>twice as good."</p><p>"Thank you, Geordi. I don’t know what I would do without you."</p><p>"Any time, my friend."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"Ensign, lay in a course towards the station. Warp 6."</p><p>"Ready, sir."</p><p>Data glanced at Geordi.</p><p>"The galaxy awaits!"</p><p>The ensign looked rather befuddled. "Sir?"</p><p>"Let’s go, I said."</p><p>Geordi smiled back. It needed work, of course, but Data was on his way. He would be all right.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! :)</p><p>(And if you're interested, I'm writing a longer fic set in the same universe, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26215603/chapters/63802729">The Faults in Ourselves</a>.)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>